Millenarian movements

They are an example of the desire to change things here and now, to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. Worsley argues that they expect the total and imminent transformation of this world by supernatural means, creating heaven on earth.

They appeal mainly to the poor because they promise immediate improvement and they often arise in colonised situations

European colonialism shattered the traditional tribal social structures and cultures of the colonised people.

Worsley studied the cargo cults- the millenarian movements in Melanesia where islanders felt deprived when cargo (material goods) arrived in the isalnds for the colonists.

Cargo cults asserted that the cargo had been meant for the natives but had been diverted by the whites for themselves and that this was about to be overturned. These movements often led to widespread unrest.

Can link this to the relationship between religion and social change because millenarian movements sometimes developed into secular political movements that overthrew colonial rule in the 1950s and 1960s.